Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Lowered to $200.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective cut by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $212.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.32.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $213.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.21, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $215.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.66.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total value of $325,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,974,210.99. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 32.4% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 166.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,276,000 after acquiring an additional 7,064 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after acquiring an additional 5,239 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.